Cellular communications systems typically provide interconnect and/or dispatch voice communication services. Interconnect voice communication services are those typically provided by most cellular carriers as circuit-switched communications. Dispatch communication services are commonly known as a walkie-talkie or push-to-talk (PTT) type of call such as Nextel's service identified by the trade name Direct Connect.
There are many differences between interconnect and dispatch communication services. For example, interconnect calls are provided in a circuit-switched manner, so that the call is maintained until one of the parties terminates the call using, for example, a call end button. In contrast, an inactivity timer is used during a dispatch call. If either party to the call does not communicate for a predetermined amount of time, the inactivity timer expires and the call is torn down. If either party depresses the PTT button, within a predetermined amount of time after the call has been torn down, the call is reestablished without requiring the party to enter a telephone number or select a telephone number from a mobile station's address book. Accordingly, a call may be torn down and reestablished without any knowledge of this process by the user of the wireless communication device.
The inactivity timer used for dispatch calls can cause a number of problems that are not encountered by interconnect calls. These problems result in user dissatisfaction, particularly because users are not aware of the inactivity timer. Accordingly, it would be desirable to reduce problems caused by the inactivity timer.